Dissonant Harmony
by Saikou-Sama
Summary: Sometimes, it's easy to lose sight of the important things in life without even meaning to. Sometimes, one small addition can throw off a beautiful harmony. Sometimes, we need to be reminded. NatsukixRyuuyaxShining. Third story in a loose series.


Dissonant Harmony

If you said "Shining Satome is acting weird", you might just as well have said "The sun rose in the east today". But Ryuuya Hyuuga knew that there was something else going on. And while he really just wanted to let it all play out (it wasn't in his nature to meddle with things), circumstances had forced him to act.

He took a deep breath, and involuntarily went over how it had come to this point in the first place...

It started with the arrival of Cecil Aijima. It had come as a surprise, of course, even though Shining scouted people all the time. Then again nothing Shining Saotome did was expected,. Ryuuya himself had been scouted, or else he might still be a high school delinquent, with nothing but a hot temper and leadership of a gang to his name. So, Ryuuya didn't think twice about Cecil's recruitment.

There was initial friction within STARISH at first, but they were slowly warming up to him. Satsuki wouldn't talk about him, but Natsuki said he was "cute" (which was almost always what Natsuki said about people), and Ryuuya went on with his life.

But soon after, things started to...change. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Shining Saotome began to be even harder to comprehend.  
"Mister Hyuuugaaaa~Have you ever thought about the face that launched a thousand ships?"

"Ah, no. I haven't." All he had done was lay some contracts in front of Shining, it caught him off guard.

Shining "Hmmm'd" to himself. "You're still young, Ryuuchin. Remember to TREASUUURRRE your YOUUUUUTH~"

Had this been the end of it, Ryuuya wouldn't have thought any more about it. It was pretty to close to how normal conversations went with Shining.

But it wasn't.

Slowly, Ryuuya noticed that whenever Shining Saotome had a new assignment for any of the idols, he would wait until he could make an entrance that Cecil could also observe. It was almost as if Saotome was...showing off? But Shining Saotome didn't try to impress for such petty reasons. He was just a force of nature.  
Or so Ryuuya thought. But the evidence kept mounting.

Shining had jumped from a balcony, slid down a vertical banner, landed in front of Cecil to announce that Reiji had procured a new contract, said something about how Cecil should "go watch professionals, so the professionals can watch YOU~" and then summoned a white horse and galloped away.

Tightly choreographed landings and impossible places to suddenly appear- both right in front of Cecil. Over and over. It probably seemed like a coincidence to most, but to Ryuuya it only appeared to be a sign of trouble.

Ryuuya had gone to Shining to talk about it.

"Shining, I know you scouted this Aijima kid..."  
"Hmmm?"  
"But, don't you think you've been giving him special treatment?"

Saotome hadn't answered. He just looked at Ryuuya and his sunglasses flashed in the light. That could mean any number of things, and Ryuuya had never figured out one of them.

After an interminable time, Ryuuya had followed up with: "Just remember that you're the President. All eyes are on you."  
Saotome smiled. "Mister Hyuuga, just remember that everrrry~thing I do, is Because of Looooove~"  
He pointed to the calligraphy above his desk. It was the title to his 20 million dollar hit, and without it he wouldn't have been able to found his agency or his school. But what exactly that had to do with Aijima, Ryuuya didn't know. "Just keep that in miiiind, Ryuuchin, and RELA~X!"  
He had disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Ryuuya hadn't tried to get another answer from him.  
After that, it became nearly impossible to find Shiny in his office at any time, and Ryuuya was left to deal with the business-end of the company. In addition to his idol work, he also had to field inquiries for talent and follow up contracts and create press releases. Some of his least favorite jobs to do and it ate up even more of his very rare free time.

Even then, he hadn't been inclined to interfere. Shining Saotome moved in mysterious ways that he didn't understand, but the end result of his actions Ryuuya had never questioned. They always made sense—in hindsight. Never before. So he had continued moving forward with his life.

A few weeks later, however, Shining had burst from a vending machine Cecil was about to use to announce that Quartet Knight was going to start on a new album, and the fact that something was off became apparent to more than just himself.

He was in his room, going over lesson plans and contracts at his desk while an unhelpful Natsuki was lying on his bed with a Piyo-chan plush he had brought over (he wanted Ryuuya to have the doll. Natsuki might have actually wanted to give him a present, or Satsuki might have wanted to make fun of Ryuuya later for taking it- either way, it was refused. Ryuuya would die before he'd accept a plush doll).  
 _Geeze, Tsuki is a weirdo..._

"Hey, Teach," Natsuki interrupted what was going to be a satisfying rant to himself while he looked over the work he didn't want to do.

"Is there somethin' going on between Shiny and Cecil?"  
Ryuuya shrugged his shoulders. He wouldn't try to deny it, Natsuki was sharper than he let on. And he wasn't about to speculate—that type of thing was impossible with Saotome. "I dunno, kid. It doesn't really concern me."

He couldn't see it, but he could hear Natsuki's annoyance with that answer.  
"Don't say that! Aren't you friends?"  
"No." This answer didn't bother Ryuuya. He admired Saotome for his work ethic, his energy and his leadership, and he was fine with it just going that far. To him, the fact that they occasionally slept together was just serendipity, and didn't believe it indicated anything more.

He heard Natsuki shifting on the bed and stand up. He walked over to stand over him at the desk.

"I think you're silly, Teach. How could you not be friends? You work together so happily!"  
Ryuuya sighed. "Not everything in life is that simple, Natsuki. But even if it were, friends don't share everything with each other. People have private lives."  
Natsuki bent lower, put his head between the papers he was working on and looked him in the eyes.  
"I thought that's what we were? You and me and Mr. Shiny~"  
Ryuuya felt a little hot. He didn't like to talk about their relationship and couldn't flirt to save his life. It always flustered him, and Natsuki knew it.  
"Natsuki, listen-"  
Natsuki pushed Ryuuya's arms to one side and sat down in his lap.  
"When I like someone," he said seriously. "I want to know aaaaaaalllll about them. Because they're all mine. So I have a question for you: am I part of your private life?"  
Ryuuya looked a corner in the ceiling and tried not to reply, though he knew he'd have to.  
"C'mon, Teach! I made this time just for you, you know~"  
Actually, Natsuki merely had more free time than him and just showed up expecting attention.  
Natsuki put his arms around Ryuuya's neck and whispered in his ear. "Don't be such a grump."  
The tone was light and teasing, but he might get more insistent if an answer didn't come soon. And then Ryuuya would never get any work done. He looked into Natsuki's eyes.  
"Y-yes, you're part of my private life. My _very_ private life."

Natsuki laughed and gave him a hug. "Hooray! I have another question for you then-"  
"Natsuki-"  
"Last one! I promise: Who would you rather hold: Piyo-chan, or me?"

The impish look in the yellow eyes before him told Ryuuya that he had better answer quicker this time around.  
"I'd much rather hold you."  
"Well. Then."

Ryuuya couldn't tell if the voice belonged to Natsuki or Satsuki. It didn't matter. He dutifully picked up the boy, walked over to the bed and laid him down on it. Then he laid down next to him, hugging him from behind and spooning him while Natsuki or Satsuki hugged the Piyo-chan plush. In moments like these, Ryuuya wondered if "Natsuki" was the fake personality, so that way tough Satsuki didn't have to admit he just wanted to be held sometimes. But it didn't matter. The kid pushed himself deeper into his arms.  
"Why don't you ask me a question, Ryuuya~" Use of his first name meant he was completely relaxed.  
"Hmmm," Ryuuya breathed and buried his face into Natsuki's hair, then whispered into his ear.  
"Who would you rather hold, Tsuki? Piyo-chan, or me?"  
He chuckled. "I'm not sure. But since I have the both of you here, do I even have to choose?"  
"I guess not." Ryuuya didn't care. He wasn't going to raise a fuss over a stuffed chicken.  
"You're too nice," Tsuki mumbled.  
"Only to you."  
Tsuki said nothing more. It was an extremely sappy line, but just the kind he liked for some reason. Ryuuya could only bring himself to say it because it would get him to shut up for awhile. Which it did for the rest of the afternoon. He didn't get any more work done, but he preferred this in any case.

What he didn't know was that this was the beginning of even more disruption in his life.

Not that he noticed, at first. In the beginning, it just seemed like Natsuki was being his usual friendly and engaging self. He almost smothered Cecil in helpfulness. He showed him around campus and practiced Japanese with him. He offered to cook him lunch, which Cecil luckily (for himself) refused, he told Cecil all about the time he spent in France and asked about Aganopolis.

As result, Natsuki stopped practicing regularly. He still practiced with STARISH, but he and Ryuuya used to practice together at least once a week and now...he was too busy.  
He was either following Cecil around or asking him questions. Natsuki was now always there when Shining Saotome appeared in front of Cecil, and Ryuuya was suddenly left alone.

He told himself it didn't bother him at first. He hadn't been in any kind of relationship for years and years before this, and it wasn't even that the three of them had an agreement or anything. And it wasn't that the practice sessions that Natsuki was now skipping all ended in the bedroom (though some did). They were just practices. He thought about asking Camus for advice, but Camus was sharp enough that he'd guess that something was behind the request. So was Ai, and Reiji, despite appearances, was also quick on the uptake. And also, Reiji annoyed him, so he avoided talking to him. So instead of finding out more information, he tried to distract himself.

Ryuuya started to play jazz more often with Ranmaru, but he was more like one of his subordinates back when he was a gang leader rather than an actual companion. Ranmaru reminded him of himself, actually. Very straightforward and more than a little socially awkward. So while he liked Ranmaru as a person, he also knew that asking him for advice would be useless. It all made Ryuuya want to look out for him like a big brother. Ranmaru might have asked questions about why they were jamming more often, but Ryuuya usually distracted him by taking him out to eat meat after their sessions.  
So he was able to fill his time without having to answer anything awkward.

But that didn't help his growing dissatisfaction with the whole situation. And it grew harder everyday to be his usual steady self.

In his usual fashion, he finally decided that the only thing to do was to directly confront what was making him upset. He caught Natsuki early one morning before he went out to stalk Cecil.  
"Natsuki, I need to talk to you."  
Natsuki looked at his watch. "You've got three minutes, Teach. Cecil should be brewing Camus' tea right now."  
Ryuuya sighed. "That's what I want to talk about. I think you're hanging around him too much."  
"Don't you want me to help my colleagues, Teach?"  
"Yeah, but...Do you have to spend all your time with him?"  
Maybe his tone wasn't as even as he thought, because Natsuki got the feral glint in his eyes that usually meant it was Satsuki, but his tone of voice didn't change.  
"Didn't I tell you before? I want to know aaaallllll about the people I like."  
He skipped past Ryuuya. As he did so, he said in a low voice, "Don't be too jealous~"  
It took Ryuuya a good ten minutes to be able to move after he had gone.

And now, here he was, lying on his bed wondering what in the world was wrong with him. He inhaled deeply. He should be on a jog or in the gym, getting ready for the next Prince of Fighting episode. He needed to keep in shape for all the stunts he performed. If not that, he always had lesson plans to go over, or choreography to memorize, or students to harass about homework, or agreements to finalize. But instead, all he could think about was the fact that Shining Saotome was obsessed with Aijima and Natsuki was obsessed with Aijima and he was on the outside looking in.

 _Out in the cold._

 _Alone._

 _Abandoned._

 _Jealous._

He tried out these words in his head. None of them sounded right. None of them seemed to describe what he was actually feeling. He tried to think of some other words.  
 _Depressed. No, still not right. Angry._ He paused. This was closer. But not quite. It was more...  
 _Annoyed. And horrified._

That was it! It wasn't jealousy that was eating away at him. It was that both Natsuki and Shining had found one more person to love, but it wasn't the right kind of love. Love should fuel and energize their singing and actions, but instead it had the potential to derail their careers. They were spending all their time focused on Cecil, and letting their futures slip away from them.

He didn't want them to fail, but he also didn't have any idea of how to fix the situation.

 _I can't live like this. It's just too much._

Not having a clear course of action irritated him further, so he decided he was going to go on a jog after all. Maybe moving around would clear his head.

He didn't have a particular destination, so he just ran and ran and ran, until he came to a cliff by the sea on the edge of campus. He decided to go up it and look out at the view for a while, but as he made his way up he noticed a figure in the distance. Someone was already looking out over the ocean.  
Actually, he saw as he got closer, someone was already there looking at the stars that were appearing one by one in the deepening twilight. It was Cecil. Which meant...

He slowed his jogging and started searching the bushes to his left. Sure enough, he was able to catch a glimpse of Natsuki watching Cecil from the surrounding forest. It was just a flash of movement, but Ryuuya had ambushed enough times that he knew exactly who it was. He went off the path and tracked Natsuki to his hiding spot, crouching low behind some bushes.  
"I want to talk to you."  
Natsuki turned around with his finger on his lips. "Shhh. Not now."  
"Natsuki, look at yourself. This needs to stop-"  
Natsuki tugged him down to his level. "Later! Later! Something is going to happen."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Just watch."  
Despite himself, Ryuuya went quiet. And listening closely, he figured out that Natsuki was right. Something was going to happen. He wondered what it was that tipped him off. He listened to the absolute quiet around him, and slowly came to realize that was the tip off: the ocean itself had _stopped_ crashing. Cecil seemed to have noticed as well, because he stopped looking up at the stars and looked down to where the ocean was, probably trying to figure out what just happened.  
Then, in a flash, the previously clear sky was filled with heavenly-looking fluffy clouds, and a rainbow staircase materialized from the cliff edge and disappeared somewhere beyond the clouds. Angelic trumpets resounded from nowhere, and Shining Saotome rode in on a firework and landed at the base of the stairs in front of Cecil. The firework then exploded in Cecil's face. In a daze, the young prince watched Shiny whirl about like a dervish- then stop on a dime and make a gun with his pointer and index finger.  
"Kon-BANG-wa, Mister Aiiiiii~jimaaaaaaa."

Whether it was the pun or the firework, Ryuuya didn't know, but Cecil fainted.

The trumpets stopped resounding and the fireworks ceased exploding, but Shining Saotome did nothing but stand over Cecil and look at him. Both Natsuki and Ryuuya left their hiding places and ran over to Shining.

He didn't look up right away when they came over, but looked for a minute more at Cecil's face.

"Miiiister Hyuuuuuuga~Miiiister Shinnnomiyaaaaaa~ Stargazing?"

"I thought I saw a shooting star, and I found you, Mr. Shiny!"  
Shining Satome laughed like he actually believed the flattering line and Ryuuya could see that they were both about the go into their routine where they pretended that they both thought the other was completely normal and not insane and he just couldn't take it.  
He held up his hands for silence. "Hold up, you two." Unconsciously, Ryuuya spoke in the same tone he used to use for chewing out his subordinates in his gang. "Listen, I've got nothing against this kid," he tossed his head in the direction of Cecil. "But you guys are out of control. I don't care," he said, looking directly at Shiny. "If you want to dazzle him every day with an entrance. And I don't care," he said again, this time turning to Natsuki. "If you want to stalk him until he dies." He looked again at the unconscious boy. "Which might not be long," he added dryly. "I'm not jealous. I couldn't care less about what you've decided to do with him. Either of you. But!" His expression grew stern. "Both of you have disappointed me. Shining, you haven't been in your office for weeks and your messages are piling up. I can only do so much by myself. And Tsuki: I know you like to know everything about a person, but you've been neglecting your studies. You can't expect to become a top idol if you don't continue to push yourself."  
They looked at him, silently. In other men this would signal that they cowed by the scolding, but for them it just meant they were both unperturbed.  
"You finished with the lecture yet, Teach?"  
This annoyed Ryuuya even more. "Almost: If you can't take this seriously then- Then never come near me again. I don't care if it's love or whatever, but if it's going to destroy your careers I want no part of it." He turned towards Saotome. "That goes for you, too. You asked me earlier about the face that launched a thousand ships. I want no part of that kind of love, and I won't be staying on if that's what you'll do for it."

Much to his surpise, Shining Saotome smiled and laughed up into the night sky. Ryuuya expected some kind of anger.  
"Are you saying, Mister Hyuuga, that you'd leave me if I threw away everything for love?"  
He nodded.  
"Even if it wasn't for Mister Aiiiiiiiijima here?"  
This caught him up short, and he questioned himself. _Was it really jealousy after all?_  
But as he thought, he found that it would annoy him just as much, or perhaps even more, if Shining Saotome abandoned his career for his sake. Ryuuya nodded again. "Love can be destructive as well as constructive, and if it got in the way for either of us, I'd leave."  
At that pronouncement, Shining Satome grabbed both of Ryuuya's hands.  
"Ah, Ryuuuuchiii~in. You've finally grown up a bit mooooore."  
Ryuuya looked at his hands and then at Shining Satome in confusion.  
"Ryuuuchiiin, everything I do is Because of Loooove~ Do you see Miiiister Aiiijima's peaceful face That's the face I've been waiting for. He looks juuuuust like someone I used to know~"  
"Then-"  
"I wanted to see an old friend's face, a MUSE of my past. It's done now, Ryuuuchiiiin. The past is the past. Now you see how LOVE can cause pain as well as INSPIRATON~ I'm sorry you had to go through this, Ryuuchin, but I'm glad you learned this lesson."  
Ryuuya wanted to ask if Shiny had planned this outcome the entire time, but he had a feeling that all he'd get was one of those inscrutable laughs of his.  
While he was still looking at Shiny and wondering what to do next, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned towards it, and got a kiss on the cheek from Natsuki.  
"Teach," he said in a semi-apologetic tone. "I'm sorry I worried you. But I wanted to know what it was that made Mr. Shiny so interested in Cecil~" He placed his hands on top of Ryuuya's hands as well, so he was being held be two strong grips. "You really don't want me near you anymore?"  
They both looked at him in expectation, but for what he didn't know. He yanked his hands out of their grips and took a step back.  
"Both of you are nuts! I'm only going to say this one more time: If you can't take your job seriously, then leave me alone! I'll be better off without you." 

Shining Satome graabbed his hands again and gave a short tug, throwing Ryuuya off balanace and into his arms. Saotome lifted his head and brought him close until he captured his mouth. It was a much gentler kiss than usual. The action surprised Ryuuya so much that he didn't even respond at first, all he did was register the sensations on his lips. Saotome stopped and looked him in the eyes (the sunglasses were still on, but he could feel him looking into his eyes):  
"Ryuuchin, don't take yourself for granted. I wouldn't keep you around if you weren't usssefuuullll~"

He was pulled into another kiss, but this time he responded by cupping Shining's face and pulling him in deeper. It was ridiculous to be so stupidly overjoyed at being called "useful", but Ryuuya knew that was as close as Shiny was ever going to get to as an admission of affection.

Ryuuya was utterly lost in just being together with Shiny, when Natsuki (Satsuki?) forced them apart. Or at least their faces. Shiny still held him possessively.  
"It's not polite to interrupt your elders, Miiiiister Shiiiiiiinomiyaaaaa~"  
"I've got somethin' to say," he said. It was Satsuki's voice, but quiet. Not angry sounding or yelling. He was looking at the ground. "I wanted to let Teach know that if he ever, EVER, got in my way, I'd drop him like a hot potato. But," he looked up into Ryuuya's eyes with a defiant glint. "He couldn't get rid of ME even if he tried."  
With that he pulled Ryuuya into his own kiss, while Shiny started down his neck and unbuttoning his shirt. Ryuuya started to sink to the ground when he grasped what little clarity he had left.  
He pushed them away with difficulty.  
"You two," he said, smoothing his hair and tidying his clothes. "Must think I'm a pushover. But I'm not. You," he said, pointing to shiny and then Natsuki. "still have paperwork to sort through and you haven't practiced in who knows how long. What kind of example would Aijima here have if he woke up and this work still wasn't done?" He gave them mock glare.  
"I know I'm going to have to personally assist both of you until you're caught up."

Shining Saotome snapped his fingers. "Why don't we start now?"  
Down from the fluffy clouds that still filled the sky came what looked like a golden, pagoda-shaped basket. Ryuuya was pushed into the basket, and the thing purred to life and the three of them slowly rose heavenwards.

"You may have heard of the woman who bought the stairway to HEAVEN~That's because I've always had the elevatoooooor~"

They tried to undress him again, but Ryuuya brushed them away and did it himself, as slowly as he was able to. Ryuuya very seldom took the lead, so it was a fascinating novelty. That's why they went along with it whenever he did.

"I expect great things from the both of you, and know you'll work extra hard to make up for lost time."  
He carefully rolled up his tie and folded his jacket and shirt, though he knew that it was a futile action. But it seemed purposeful and it added to the delay they all were enjoying. This entire rare show of assertiveness brought them all to a fever pitch.  
"Hmmm..." Ryuuya pretended to think. He placed Natsuki behind him, wrapping the boy's hands around his waist. Ryuuya ran his own hands up and down Natsuki's glutes before reaching out and pulling Shining Saotome into an embrace. He leaned back into Natsuki and brought Saotome into a lingering kiss.

"Why don't we review the basics? If you can't remember a lesson, I'll go over it with you."

It turned out that Shining Saotome and Natsuki were terrible, terrible students. But they made up for it in other areas.


End file.
